I'm very positive about the Mersey Dee Alliance from the previous conversations I've had with them, but also with the ambition board across north Wales, again, that you'll be familiar with from a previous role before coming to this place. But, actually, the plan that exists there, and making sure that the Mersey Dee Alliance adds to that and doesn't compete with it or potentially duplicate some of the work, is important. So, the two Welsh authorities, Flintshire and Wrexham, and the two authorities in Cheshire—. Actually, I met them last week in a meeting chaired by Ken Skates, who had brought them together. It was actually genuinely constructive around the conversations we're trying to have about how we can see more go into the Mersey Dee area. The challenge is still about whether there will be resource to help them realise their plans.

They've got a range of projects that would work and benefit both sides of the border, and there is a recognition that there is a very large travel-to-work area there that flows on both sides of the border. We've had some previous embarrassing incidents in the past where UK Ministers have said they're visiting Airbus in Cheshire. Of course, Airbus isn't in Cheshire—it's on our side of the border—but lots of people who work there do live on the other side of the border, so it's not much of a surprise. The challenge is will we get to a point of stability in the policy-making framework, an understanding of the resource that's available, and then some genuine investment choices being made to help advance the ambitions of the Mersey Dee Alliance. I'm optimistic about that.

I am, though, concerned about the potential pebble-in-the-pond of investment zones. There hasn’t been a change in this perspective, at least. Of the 38 potential investment zones, one of the possible ones was Cheshire west. If there's an investment zone in Cheshire west, what does that do to the Mersey Dee Alliance? Does it unbalance things? It isn't clear to me. It isn't clear to me about the reliefs and incentives and whether that will displace activity rather than grow it. The collaborative way that those four authorities are working is a good example of what really can be done when people recognise they have a common interest.